Something I bring up maybe a bit too often with hospitality clients is…drum roll please…toilet paper. It’s not necessarily the sexiest part of brand development, but there it is - in every single bathroom in every guest room, lobby and restaurant. You’re definitely disappointed if it’s missing, but you may not think of it as an item that adds brand value. PlantPaper is one of the few companies that has put their foot in the door and recognized the importance of this product from a guest experience perspective. They understand hospitality and the emotional connection that a guest can feel for a hotel. Something as basic and entry-level as a square of TP can really make an impact, as subtle as it may be. Environmentally, especially at the volume hotels plow through the stuff, but also in helping to share brand values with guests without having to hand them a bullet pointed list. For the loyal guests (the ones who aren’t just trolling Expedia for the cheapest rate) these little details really make the difference.
Aside from the product just being the right choice healthfully and environmentally, from a marketing perspective PlantPaper has done such a beautiful job of making an item of the everyday so…beautiful. They partner with artists and creatives, feature beautiful photography and have the most unique brand voice in their field. What other TP co do you know who has been featured in Vanity Fair? There are so many disposable products used in hotels and typically they are either uninspiring or almost invisible. The little qtip pouch is not usually an impactful guest touchpoint. But PlantPaper shows us that these items can pack punch and really boost the guest experience. This feels inspiring to me. If you’re spending the money to travel and discover and immerse yourself, why shouldn’t all of those details be considered?
So I chatted with Deeva Green, Co-Founder of PlantPaper, to learn more about why she’s slinging TP and how it plays out in the hospitality world.
And guess what? PlantPaper ships direct to your home as well. Gifting for a loved one who has it all? If you can spare a square may I recommend a Subscription to PlantPaper. They are now offering Giftcards, just in time for the holidays.
Read all about it below and follow PlantPaper on instagram @plant_paper
I was first introduced to PlantPaper when seeking out a product for the Casetta Hotel properties. We were excited to partner with you as a vendor that helped to make some of our sustainability goals more tangible. Tell me a bit more about PlantPaper's mission and product.
We make tree-free, toxin-free toilet paper. We're one of the only toilet paper brands that is lab-certified PFAS-free. This means that there are no forever chemicals in our TP, nor is there any bleach, formaldehyde, dioxins, or BPAs–toxic chemicals that are in most TP you’ll find. Our goal has always been to make a toilet paper that we ourselves would want to use: something better for our bodies, better for the planet and just all around better in the bathroom. PlantPaper is rooted in the idea that the little choices we make everyday can add up to something big. Our goal is to make it easy to make those little positive choices every day, and to show that doing what’s better for our bodies and planet can be a trade-up, not a trade-off.
In a sentence how do you describe what you do within the hospitality world?
We aim to give our hospitality partners the opportunity to offer an amenity to their guests that has for too long been overlooked: a genuinely clean-label, responsibly-made toilet paper that people actually want to use. We know that what distinguishes truly great hospitality venues, whether it’s a hotel or a restaurant or even a yoga studio is the attention to detail—the sense that everything has been considered, is intentional. We hope that PlantPaper functions as a signal to guests that the venue is genuinely invested in the health of its guests and the health of our planet and all its inhabitants.
Why TP? How did you find yourself here!
Good question! When we first started working on PlantPaper over six years ago now, people’s bathrooms had already begun to change dramatically from the way they were a decade prior… you were seeing new, clean-label shampoo brands, toothpastes, soaps, deodorants. But toilet paper was still stuck in an another era. We began learning more about the way toilet paper was made, and we were appalled. Harsh chemicals, known carcinogens, old-growth trees, a huge carbon footprint. It was also around this time that our friends (and eventually we ourselves) started to have kids. Issues related to hemorrhoids, fertility, UTIs were suddenly ubiquitous. We sensed an opportunity to do something big, something with the potential to grow quickly and have a significant impact. After all, pretty much everyone uses toilet paper. Its being such a utilitarian product, not a luxury good, really appealed to us.
There are so many touchpoints in a hotel that get a bit more attention than Toilet Paper. Why do you think this is one for a brand to prioritize?
So many reasons! For one, it sends the message to the guests that “we’re here for you, we’re in your corner, we care about you." Choosing to stock PlantPaper in your guests’ bathrooms sends a message that we’re thinking about your health in the same ways you probably do in your own home; we’re thinking about this planet in ways that you probably do or would like to in your own home, which can often be difficult when you’re on the go and traveling. One of our favorite things to hear—and we hear it a lot—is that people bring rolls of PlantPaper with them when they travel. We love the idea of great hotels around the world saving them the trouble…it really says, “you’re at home here."
I saw your Under/Over exhibition at Marta Gallery. Brilliant! Tell me more about how that came to be, and do you have more art collaborations in your future?
We loved that show and its second iteration with Marta in NYC. We’d always been on the lookout for an amazing holder for toilet paper. We decided to take matters into our own hands and approached our friends at Marta to co-curate and host a show of twenty artists and designers taking on the brief. We love the idea that such a mundane thing that often gets overlooked could be reimagined. We think the same thing about TP itself! We have an exciting collaboration coming up with an artist in LA...Kristen Dickson-Okuda (@ikoikospace). Stay tuned for more on that!
Dream location for Plant Paper?
Everywhere from the shelves of Costco to the bathrooms at the Guggenheim to our childrens’ schools… and your home!
Who or what inspires you? Within or outside of the hospitality industry.
Hospitality can often be such a drain on the environment with all the laundry and disposable products. We’re inspired by groups or individuals doing things differently – like Casetta Group. And any movement away from plastics!
Favorite hospitality space you've visited recently and why? (hotel, restaurant, bodega...)
EAT: RVR Restaurant in LA– the hospitality is warm and just great. Small, cozy, you feel very at-home and comfortable. Perfect Japanese Izakaya food. STAY: The Standard, London Kings Cross. Awesome soundtrack throughout the hotel, the design completely transports you onto the wavelength of jet set travel in the 1960s. It’s very clearly an homage to that era but never feels kitschy… Clearly just people having a great time riffing on a world and a vibe that they loved.
Who do you admire within the hospitality industry? Nominate them and I'll try reach out to interview them as well.
Rinn Shiki Juraku in Kyoto. Ten independent townhouses, over 100 years old. Authentic, cozy, peaceful and restful, clean but with a lot of patina, a perfect wabi-sabi vibe.
Anything else you'd like to share?
We really believe it’s the small changes we all make on a daily basis that add up and start to change the way we do all things in our lives. Toilet paper is a great daily reminder of just that.
Thank you, Deeva!
